Big game hunter crushed to death

[Al Bundy]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-n...nter--10469997

A professional big game hunter is dead after he was crushed by a wounded elephant as it was fatally shot.

Theunis Botha, 51, was on a hunt in Gwai, Zimbabwe, when his gro[/URL]up was charged by four breeding elephants.

A female elephant picked up Botha in her trunk after he fired at the others and collapsed on top of him - crushing him to death - after she was shot by another hunter.

Heartbroken friends described the married father-of-five as a "legend", while opponents of big game hunting offered little sympathy following his passing.


Theunis Botha was killed by an elephant when he was on a hunt in Zimbabwe (Photo: Facebook)

Botha often took wealthy foreigners on hunts for leopards and other animals (Photo: Theunis Botha/Youtube)

Botha and two other men pose with the giant tusks of an elephant
Botha, from the South African town of Tzaneen, and the rest of the group were out for a walk on Friday afternoon when they came across the herd.

A source told Netwerk24 that Botha shot at three elephant cows as they stormed the hunters.

A fourth cow stormed from the side, lifted Botha with her trunk and was fatally shot by another hunter. The elephant then collapsed onto Botha.


Elephants and lions were among the animals hunted during Botha's safaris

Botha came from a family of cattle ranchers and big game hunters

Botha and another man pose with a crocodile that was killed during a hunt
The South African specialised in big game safaris and often took wealthy foreigners on hunts for lions, leopards and other animals after founding his own company in the 1980s.

Friends paid tribute to him on Facebook, where one wrote: "RIP Theunis Botha. Our heartfelt condolences to Carike and family. He was a great man! So sad!"


Botha's company was called Theunis Botha Big Game Safaris and Hounds

One of Botha's friends (not pictured) was recently killed by a crocodile during a hunt

Another friend added: "A legend has fallen but will never be forgotten... It's with a sad heart that we say goodbye to you Oom Theunis Botha. Our deepest condolences to the family. May God be with you all in this difficult time."

Critics of big game hunting responded with little sympathy.

One person wrote: "You should be crying for the innocent elephant that was senselessly murdered not this idiot hunter who deserved what he got."

Heartbroken friends described Botha as a "legend" of big game hunting (Photo: Facebook)

The married father-of-five ran his own safari company out of South Africa (Photo: Theunis Botha/Youtube)
Botha's friend, Scott van Zyl, 44, was killed by crocodiles during a hunt in Zimbabwe last month, Netwerk24 reported.

Botha's company, called Theunis Botha Big Game Safaris and Hounds, as he was known to hunt with dogs, is a family operation run with his wife Carike.

In 1878 his ancestors moved into a wild and rugged region of South Africa, becoming cattle ranchers and hunters, the firm's website states.

It adds: "In the year of ’66 Theunis became the latest addition to his family, and was privileged to be raised in the ways of the bush and its people."

He served in the South African infantry during the Angolan War and left the Army after reaching the rank of sergeant.

After returning home he started offering hunting safaris in 1989 to pay for his studies, and completed a degree in psychology and anthropology in 1991.

His first client, Bill Reynolds, from the US state of Montana, hunted a leopard on the family's game ranch bordering Kruger National Park after his hounds picked up the animal's scent, the website states.

It added that Botha pioneered traditional European-style Monteria hunts, where game are driven with dogs, in South Africa.

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by Flachief58

Just as I suspected, little dick syndrome

i knew you were a vegan

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by vailpass

OK I don't get it...what's the significance of the bolded?

He's got a shared facebook account with his wife. You know, like TomandDebbieDiscussThrower.

[Trent Green GOAT]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

I can assure you...that YOU and none of the other pseudo-outdoorsmen created anything resembling a weapon. They BOUGHT weapons invented by smarter people than themselves...without their ingenuity, you would be eaten. That is very loose definition of the word "we"...they didn't do anything to prove their superiority. There is a major disconnect...in the honesty of the actual act of modern hunting.

So you arent the top of the food chain....quit pretending your individual resourcefulness out "natured" the animal. Nothing says "rugged" like shooting an unsuspecting animal with bullets bought at Walmart...then sleeping in a tent bought a few isles down.

We aren't at the top of the food chain? Woah....

[tooge]

BTW, early modern humans and Neanderthals didn't have modern weaponry, and they mandaged to kill off plenty of species. Why? Because they ruined their habitat, killed them without regulations, and pushed them out of their own territory. If modern hunters didn't exist, the same would happen to most species left today.

[FlaChief58]

Originally Posted by Pawnmower

i knew you were a vegan

Furthest thing from it, I just don't like trophy hunters. If you're going to take an animals life, you should respect it by using the whole thing

[Trent Green GOAT]

Originally Posted by Flachief58

Furthest thing from it, I just don't like trophy hunters. If you're going to take an animals life, you should respect it by using the whole thing

What do you think happens to the elephants they shoot?

[Mike in SW-MO]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

I can assure you...that YOU and none of the other pseudo-outdoorsmen created anything resembling a weapon. They BOUGHT weapons invented by smarter people than themselves...without their ingenuity, you would be eaten. That is very loose definition of the word "we"...they didn't do anything to prove their superiority. There is a major disconnect...in the honesty of the actual act of modern hunting.

So you arent the top of the food chain....quit pretending your individual resourcefulness out "natured" the animal. Nothing says "rugged" like shooting an unsuspecting animal with bullets bought at Walmart...then sleeping in a tent bought a few isles down.

I have made my own bow, arrows, and string and taken meat with the weapons that I created myself.

[srvy]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

I can assure you...that YOU and none of the other pseudo-outdoorsmen created anything resembling a weapon. They BOUGHT weapons invented by smarter people than themselves...without their ingenuity, you would be eaten. That is very loose definition of the word "we"...they didn't do anything to prove their superiority. There is a major disconnect...in the honesty of the actual act of modern hunting.

So you arent the top of the food chain....quit pretending your individual resourcefulness out "natured" the animal. Nothing says "rugged" like shooting an unsuspecting animal with bullets bought at Walmart...then sleeping in a tent bought a few isles down.

I hunt with a bow and arrow that I made ya insignificant little twit. And the bullshit you just wrote above tells me you know 0 about hunting. A bear or mountain lion takes a young child just walking with her parents on a hiking trail. Does the make that bear a fat ass loser?

[loochy]

Originally Posted by Trent Green GOAT

What do you think happens to the elephants they shoot?

They make fishsticks out of them.

[Rooster]

Originally Posted by Trent Green GOAT

What do you think happens to the elephants they shoot?

Necrophilia?

[seclark]

Originally Posted by Mike in SW-MO

I have made my own bow, arrows, and string and taken meat with the weapons that I created myself.

same here...
i'm just glad you people don't know about the kitten head i have mounted on the wall.
sec

[WhiteWhale]

Some impressive virtue signaling going on here.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

Some impressive virtue signaling going on here.

To be sure.

[Trent Green GOAT]

Originally Posted by Rooster

Necrophilia?

Well it wouldnt be wasted would it? Lol

[scho63]

I don't like guns, I've never hunted or wanted to hunt or own a gun, I only fish occasionally but I would never discredit or impune anyone who has that lifestyle. I don't get it or understand but why should I be the World's authority on hunting. Just don't hunt any endangered species.

Is this a hard concept to understand?